Our Reconciliation Action Plan
Our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2024–27 provides information on our initiatives to support reconciliation under 3 core pillars – relationships, respect and opportunities.
Our activities under ‘Governance, tracking and reporting’ enable us to relay our successes and lessons learned to our staff, community, government and to Reconciliation AustraliaExternal Link.
Relationships
We will explore ways to improve existing services and build new relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partners to support improved economic outcomes.
This will lead to increased confidence in the Australian tax, superannuation and registry systems.
In Quarter 1 (Q1), we publicly communicated a range of topics including the launch of our Reconciliation Action Plan 2024–27, NAIDOC Week by sharing stories from ATO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, and the one-on-one tax and superannuation support we provided during First Nations Foundation’s Financial Wellness Week.
We developed internal guidelines for protecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees online. The guidelines provide better practice principles for people wishing to use stories, opinions, photos or videos of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees online and ensures all efforts are taken to protect staff safety and mitigate risks.
We continue to engage with cross-agency networks to advance reconciliation, including by co-hosting the Australian Public Services (APS) Reconciliation Sharing Network.
Respect
We build relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by being aware of, acknowledging and respecting the unique cultures and lived experiences.
Cultural learning
As at 31 December 2024, 98.78% of all staff have completed formal and structured cultural learning in the completion of Indigenous Australian Cultural Awareness (IACA) training.
In Quarter 2 (Q2), we released our Cultural Capability approach. The approach aligns to the APS Cultural Capability Hub training offering. We also delivered 2 Cultural Capability virtual training sessions for staff.
Throughout October and November 2024, 2 Jawun secondments occurred over 6 weeks in Central Australia and the South of Western Australia, and 3 Jawun Executive visits occurred over 2–4 days in inner Sydney and the South of Western Australia.
NAIDOC Week
We celebrated NAIDOC Week with local site events and a national online event hosted by one of our SES Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Champions. The event featured keynote speaker Brendan Moyle, Executive Branch Manager for the Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs in the ACT Government.
Opportunities
We support opportunities through our efforts to be an employer of choice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and a leader in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander procurement.
Staff professional development
As at 31 December 2024, the ATO has supported staff professional development including through the following:
- Two staff were supported for the 2025 Australian National University (ANU) First Nations Graduate Certificate qualification.
- Four staff graduated from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Executive Indigenous Leadership Program.
- Four staff attended the APS4/5 Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) First Nations Emerging Leaders Program.
- Three staff have been accepted onto the First Nations EL2 Bulabul Talent Development Program.
- Ninety-one staff commenced as mentees in the Indigenous Mentoring Program, which includes 45 Evergreen Program participants.
- Two staff completed the 10-week Diversity Recognition Secondment
- Twenty Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff are receiving full funding for their tertiary education under our Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). Two Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff graduated, one with a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration and the other with Graduate Certificate in Technology Management
In the first half of 2024–2025 we have attended multiple events, including:
- First Nations Foundation Financial Wellness Weeks
- Indigenous Financial Wellness Clinic
- Koori Connect
- Supply Nation Connect
- Indigenous Business Connect
- the Indigenous Business Education series at the Yarpa Hub, and
- the Mildura Indigenous Business Expo.
Staff travelled to East Arnhem Land, Palm Island and Doomadgee, amongst other locations, to assist taxpayers with items such as:
- TFN registration
- superannuation
- work-related expenses, and
- lodgment.
By attending these events, we are able to build stronger relationships and highlight our small business support. We can connect those starting out, or in the early stages of business, into the business support ecosystem, including providing ATO education and resources, and addressing queries.
Governance
We will support and manage accountability for our RAP initiatives through monitoring actions, tracking progress against the planned deliverables, and communicating our commitment to reconciliation publicly.
Through Q1 and Q2, the Australian Taxation Office Corporate Plan 2024–25 and the Commissioner of Taxation annual report 2023–24 were released, both including references to the ATO's RAP.
We have a reporting and governance framework in place to guide measurement and reporting on a regular basis. We completed and submitted the RAP impact survey to Reconciliation Australia in September 2024.
We host regular RAP Working Group (RAPWG) meetings to drive and monitor RAP implementation.
Ongoing focus areas
Formal 2-way partnership
We are continuing to explore opportunities to establish a formal 2-way partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities or organisations.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employee representation
We continue to explore a range of initiatives to increase the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within our workforce. While we have had some successes, we are yet to achieve the targets established under our RAP.
|
Classification |
Target 2024–25 |
Results Q2 2024–25 |
|---|---|---|
|
APS4–6 |
4.0% |
3.0% |
|
EL1–2 |
2.5% |
1.1% |
|
SES |
2.0% |
0.4% |